Erie ready to rumble with Roar on the Shore

This is a 2011 file photo of motorcyclists during the Roar on the Shore bike parade on in Erie on July 14. The festival brings in thousands of bikers and enthusiasts to Erie every year for a weekend of festivities. JACQUELINE CONNOR/ERIE TIMES-NEWS

"This facility and its space are phenomenal. At the old store, you would have been elbow to elbow,'' said Bob Mattis, 53, of Millcreek Township.

Mattis owns a 2000 Harley Heritage Softail motorcycle. He was eyeing some Harley Ultra Classics inside the spacious showroom at the grand opening.

Nearly 60 bikes were lined up in rows near him.

"You can move around in between bikes and look at them,'' Mattis said. "I am very impressed.''

The cost of purchasing and renovating the building, which housed the former Quality Markets supermarket, was $3.2 million, Kelly Lapping said.

"This dealership expansion shows expansion for Erie itself,'' Mattis said. "I think Roar on the Shore helped expand the dealership, and this is going to help expand Roar on the Shore.''

Approximately 45,000 square feet are designated for the dealership. Plans include 15,000 square feet for retail businesses and a restaurant.

Feedback has been positive.

"Local motorcyclists are very enthusiastic and very excited to have a facility like this,'' Kelly Lapping said. "We've had people away from Erie coming in here.''

The new facility includes a customer lounge, a meeting room for the local chapter of the Harley Owners Group, a larger service area and a classroom, with an outdoor training course for the Pennsylvania Motorcycle Safety Program.

Customers also can keep their motorcycles and power-sports vehicles during the offseason in a 14,000-square-foot storage area.

As a major sponsor of Roar on the Shore, Harley-Davidson of Erie has annually hosted the rally's annual Thunder on the Isle: The Mayor's Ride, led by Erie Mayor Joe Sinnott.

Sinnott again will lead bikers on a ride around Presque Isle State Park on Friday

The Lappings' former Harley-Davidson dealership -- the staging point for Sinnott's ride -- could accommodate about 800 bikes in its parking lot and adjacent fields.

The spacious parking lots at the new facility can easily park 1,500 to 2,000 motorcycles, Kelly Lapping said.

"We've always had a very good turnout with a lot of bikes for that ride, but the biggest problem at the old facility was finding a place to park them all prior to the ride,'' Sinnott said. "That won't be a problem here on the grounds this size.''

Sinnott's ride is scheduled to leave the Harley dealership Friday at 6 p.m.

"Now that we have the additional parking and we have room, it's going to be incredible for us, the biker community and everybody who wants to come by,'' Susan Lapping said. "We have people coming in to the dealership who ride and who don't ride, and are just excited to see it.''

The Lappings announced in early March plans to relocate and renovate their dealership, which is on the north side of West 12th Street just east of Powell Avenue.

Renovation work on the new facility began in April. About 25 contractors tackled the project, and they finished it in 80 days.

"The builder and architect took what was in our head and just made it a reality,'' Susan Lapping said. "Our community built this. It's all local builders who have done this.''

An ambitious schedule called for the project to be completed before the Roar on the Shore rally.

"We needed to get a couple weeks under our belt and get all the kinks worked out, because once Roar on the Shore hits, that gets kind of insane,'' Susan Lapping said. "We needed to be up and running.''

Kelly Lapping said construction crews were as enthusiastic about finishing the project as bikers were of seeing the end product.

"The workers who built this place were motivated to get it done in time for Roar on the Shore because they wanted to show it off to all the visitors who are coming to this town and community for the rally,'' he said.

Legions of bikers who descend on Erie this week can participate in eight scheduled rides during the four-day rally.

Organizers have added three new rides to the rally lineup.

The first -- the Roar Microbrew Ride and Raffle -- departs from Moe's Southwest Grill, 2052 Edinboro Road, on Friday at 12:30 p.m.

Limited to 100 bikes, the ride is a 30-mile trip on country roads to the Sprague Farm & Brew Works in Venango Township, Crawford County. Donation is $25 per bike.

"We get a lot of suggestions through our Facebook page and e-mails, and the one thing folks want to do when they're here is they want to ride their motorcycles,'' Manufacturer & Business Association spokeswoman Tammy Polanski said. "We wanted to expand the number of rides this year.''

Only about 20 slots remain for the Microbrew ride, Polanski said.

"This is a nice, easy short ride,'' she said. "Our thought is to bring folks out there and let them see the brewery. They can take a tour and sample the microbrews on tap there.''

A woodcarving demonstration is scheduled at the brewery.

Two new rides are scheduled for Saturday -- the Lake Escape West Ride to Geneva on the Lake in Ashtabula County, Ohio; and a Ladies Only Ride to Pymatuning State Park.

The Lake Escape West Ride, sponsored by Roth Cadillac, is a 45-mile ride to Geneva on the Lake and is limited to 100 bikes.

Riders are scheduled to depart the Elk Creek Inn, 6886 Sterrettania Road, at 1 p.m. Donation is $25 per bike, which includes lunch.

"This is a biker destination favorite,'' Polanski said. "Everybody loves to go there. It's tons of fun. We'll lead them on an escorted ride. Riders are welcome to stay at Geneva on the Lake, hang out for a little bit, or they can follow us back at that time.''

As of Thursday, this ride had only three slots left, Polanski said.

The Ladies Only Ride is scheduled to leave Off Road Express West Kawasaki/Honda, 9070 Peach St., at 2 p.m. Saturday for Pymatuning State Park. Donation is $15 per bike and is limited to 100 bikes.

"Over the last five years, we've seen a huge increase in women riders as customers, buying bikes for themselves,'' said Joe Askins, owner of Off Road Express, which is sponsoring the women's ride.

"We've seen a lot of interest in a ladies-only ride by a lot of our women customers,'' he said. "One of the biggest growth areas in our motorcycle business is the lady riders.''

Motorcyclists can pre-purchase tickets for all rides on Thursday starting at 11 a.m. at the Roar on the Shore headquarters tent at Perry Square, Polanski said.

Because of expenses, Roar on the Shore officials increased the donation price for Thursday's Bringin' in the Roar bike parade to $20 per bike. It had been $10 per bike since the event's inception.

"The expense of putting on a ride of this size is large,'' Polanski said.

"It finally became a point where we looked at it and we thought, 'How do we control that and what can we do to make sure it's still a safe ride that as many people as possible can still participate in and we can still pay for the expenses associated with it?' So we did make the decision to raise that to $20.''

"We have to hire a separate security detail to assist us with this parade, lining up 5,000 bikes,'' Polanski said. "We hire a cleanup crew to follow the parade once the last bike leaves just to make sure that all along that parade route, there is no debris and nothing left behind.''

Organizers did not raise donation prices on any other Roar on the Shore rides, Polanski said.

"There's not one taxpayer dollar used for the rally,'' she said. "Everything you see -- any police assistance we require, cutting the grass in Perry Square and anything associated with this rally -- we pay for.''